Welcome to Nuclear Islam

First stop? Iran





The race continues and they are winning.

Iran has pumped out about seven tons of the gas it needs for uranium enrichment since it restarted the process last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported Friday. A former U.N. nuclear inspector said that would be enough for an atomic weapon. In unusually strong language, an IAEA report also said despite its investigation, questions remain about key aspects of Iran's 18 years of clandestine nuclear activity and that it still was unable "to conclude that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran."

After Iran resumed conversion last month, key European nations set a Sept. 3 deadline for Tehran to reimpose its freeze of the process or face the threat of referral to the U.N. Security Council _ a warning most recently repeated last week by French President Jacques Chirac. The 35-nation IAEA board meets Sept. 19 on Iran and will debate options that could include a U.S.-EU push for Security Council referral. The Security Council, in turn, could impose sanctions _ although members China and Russia are believed to oppose sanctions. At a minimum, the issue would receive world attention if debated by the U.N.'s top body.

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But with no word from Iran that it would cease conversion before the deadline of Sept. 3 _ Saturday _ there was little hope that Tehran was interested in deflecting the threat. The facility at Isfahan covers more than 150 acres spread along mountains outside the city. Parts were built in tunnels in the mountains as protection from airstrikes. The report said that in late August, Iran also informed the IAEA that it would move its tons of raw uranium feedstock needed for conversion into those tunnels, which diplomats familiar with Iran's nuclear program say have been hardened against "bunker buster" bombs like those that struck Taliban command centers deep underground in Afghanistan.